


Shandy Fall Ficlet

by MkSC



Category: Major Crimes (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-07-15 15:05:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16065656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MkSC/pseuds/MkSC
Summary: Sharon and Andy are in Park City for a long weekend in October with Sharon’s siblings and their spouses.





	1. Chapter 1

Sharon and Andy arrived at her parents' timeshare in Park City soon before dinner time. As soon as Sharon got out of the car, she could smell steaks cooking from the grill on the porch upstairs and hear the loud chatter of her brother, sister, and in-laws. Her sister had texted her before they boarded with dinner plans, so Sharon knew there was also fish for Andy. They got their bags and started for the stairs up to the porch, but Andy grabbed Sharon's hand and led her to the hammock in the yard. "Andy, they probably heard our doors slamming, they know we're here," Sharon protested.

"Just for a minute," Andy pleaded. "It's usually too hot or too cold to enjoy it when we're here." He dropped into the hammock and pulled Sharon down with him. It had been a long time since she'd experienced true Fall weather, and the slight chill in the air and the brilliant color of the leaves did make the hammock appealing. Sharon lay on Andy's shoulder and gazed up at the trees, loving the smell of leaves and the charcoal from the grill. Andy put his hand on her cheek and kissed her, and before long they had gotten too carried away to notice Sharon's brother standing over them.

"I found them!" William yelled up to the porch. "My god, you two are like a couple of teenagers."

Sharon jumped and pulled away from Andy before hastily getting out of the hammock. "Well, hello to you, too, little brother." She pulled him into a hug and picked up her bag.

"Where were you guys?" Kate, Sharon's sister, asked once they'd all greeted each other. "We heard the car doors slam, but then you guys never came up."

Sharon's face flushed. "We were, uh—"

"Coupling in the hammock," William supplied.

Sharon rolled her eyes. "We were not."

William raised his eyebrows. "It was getting there."

Later that evening, all of the men had gone to bed, leaving Sharon, Kate, and Beth on the porch with their second bottle of wine. They chatted for a while before turning in, themselves. Sharon slipped quietly into her and Andy's room and got ready for bed. In the darkness, she didn't notice the open window that she'd forgotten about opening when they arrived, and she climbed in beside Andy and went to sleep.

Sharon shivered slightly as she tried to hold on to sleep the next morning, but the feeling of not knowing where she was caused her mind to drift more toward wakefulness. Andy was beside her, but this wasn't their bed. Their bed at home was bigger than this. And not so damn cold. As she spooned her legs against Andy's, snuggled into his back, and tightened the covers around her, she remembered that they were in Park City. She was also just now remembering opening a window and not closing it before she went to bed the night before.

Andy was starting to stir, and he slowly rolled over and pulled Sharon into his chest. Without opening her eyes, she tilted her face up for a kiss. From the way Andy kissed her eye before he fumbled around for her lips, she figured that he either hadn't opened his eyes yet, either, or he had the blurry half-slitted eyes that made him walk into walls and furniture for the first couple of minutes after waking up. "Why is it colder than a penguin's ballsack in here?" He muttered against her lips.

"Guess we forgot to close the window," Sharon mumbled. She pulled away from Andy's kiss and shivered again as she entwined her legs with his and pressed herself closer to him. Sleep had left her, though, and the cold, crisp air of the early morning and the smell of coffee coming from the kitchen was enough to lure her out of bed. After pulling on a pair of flannel pajama pants under her nightgown and slipping on a sweatshirt over it, she stepped into the hall. She looked ridiculous, but she was freezing her ass off. Taking her nightgown off in the frigidity of their bedroom wasn't happening.

It was notably warmer in the hall, but Sharon hurried to the living room to turn the gas logs on. It was 7:30 according to the clock on the mantle, so she probably wouldn't have slept much longer, anyway, but being woken up on account of freezing to death wasn't the best way she could think of to start the day. As long as windows weren't left open overnight, it wasn't cold enough to turn the heat on or hot enough during the day to turn the air on. The weather was perfect. Sharon sat as close to the gas logs as she could get without actually being in them, and Andy brought her a cup of coffee and snuggled beside her.

"What's with you guys?" Beth asked.

Sharon looked over at her sister-in-law, who was sipping a mug of coffee on the couch and watching the news. "We left our window open last night, so we woke up freezing. Have you guys been up long?"

Beth rolled her eyes. "You know William. He was up at dawn, and he thinks that if he's awake, the rest of the house has to be awake. How are you guys just waking up? He's been making a racket with breakfast."

"I learned to tune him out years ago. He's just like Dad. I think my body just naturally tunes them out by now when they're on their 'I have to wake up the rest of the house at 6:00 in the damn morning' missions." Sharon accepted her coffee from Andy and took a long sip. "Thanks, honey." The coffee warmed her up, and the heat from the gas logs on her back would be uncomfortable in a couple of minutes, but the warmth felt nice for the time being. The shadows in the living room were different than they'd been when they were here just a couple of months ago, and the sunlight wasn't quite as bright. Autumn was definitely underway with the promise of Winter soon behind it. With the fall-scented candles in the house, the brightly-colored leaves outside, and the fog drifting across the mountains and the lake, the mid-October Friday morning made for a cozy scene. Sharon couldn't wait to eat breakfast and take her coffee and a blanket to the porch to enjoy the morning, and she was excited about the fun week ahead of her.


	2. Chapter 2

After lazing around on the porch with coffee and breakfast for a while, the couples went their separate ways. Sharon and Andy changed clothes and headed for a hiking trail near the house. The trail had expansive views of the lake for much of it, and there were several wooden bridges over smaller streams that led to the lake throughout the trail. The day was warming up, but the air was still cool and crisp, and the smell of leaves and smoke from nearby houses where people were already building fires filled the air. When they were approaching the house again, Sharon was thinking that she loved feeling leaves crunch beneath her feet and of how long it had been since she’d experienced true Autumn weather. She noticed Andy take a large step to the side. “What...Oh, you saw a really crunchy-looking leaf, didn’t you?” She asked with a knowing smile.

Andy nodded. “Can’t pass one of those up.” He grabbed Sharon’s hand and led her toward the hammock in the yard.

“I need to take a shower first.” Sharon felt disgusting after hiking for over an hour.

“Nah, that can wait.” Andy pulled her down into the hammock and gently pulled her hair tie out of her hair. With one hand gliding through her hair, he lifted her chin with his other hand and slowly kissed her. 

Sharon pulled away from Andy and adjusted herself in the hammock a few minutes later. “What is with you and the hammock?”

Andy shrugged. “I don’t know. I think I just like this part of the yard, and being under the leaves and a little closer to the water. Why? You don’t like it?”

“It’s not that, I was just wondering if you’d want to get one at home.”

“Nah.”

After lunch, Sharon finally got her shower, and everyone was discussing whether to do something together or separate again for the afternoon when a low rumble of thunder outside made the decision for them. Kate looked outside at the gathering clouds. “Ooh, let’s go watch the storm.”

“I’ll get the wine and some glasses.” Sharon’s hair was still wet, and she was wearing sweatpants and one of Andy’s Dodgers t-shirts. It suited her fine to hang around the house for the rest of the day.

The color drained from Andy’s face. “Watch the storm? What do you mean—“ He paled even more when Kate, Beth, James, and William headed outside. “You mean from out there?!”

Sharon gave him an amused look. “Can you think of a better place to watch a storm?”

“Yeah. From inside.”

Sharon tilted her head. “Are you afraid of storms?”

“I’m not afraid,” Andy insisted, “I just prefer to enjoy them from inside, like God intended.”

“No, honey, storms are why God gave us porches. We’ll be perfectly safe, I promise.” Sharon grabbed a couple of bottles of wine and a few wine glasses. She and Andy hadn’t had the chance to enjoy a daytime thunderstorm yet, and it had been a while since she’d experienced a storm that didn’t happen in the middle of the night, in general, and she was excited. She loved a storm, especially an Autumn one in the mountains. 

With a glass of red wine in her hand, Sharon cuddled into one of the large chairs on the porch with Andy. The temperature had dropped with the incoming storm, but there were still rays of sunlight peeking through the growing clouds. The reflection of the colorful leaves in the mountains could still be seen in the smooth water of the lake. With each louder clap of thunder, Sharon could feel Andy tense up as the mountains made the thunder even louder than it would’ve otherwise been. “You can go inside if you want to,” she whispered.

Andy wouldn’t have minded changing into a dry t-shirt, as Sharon was lying against his shoulder with her wet hair, but the smell of her shampoo and the warmth of her cuddled into his side quickly dissuaded him. Normally, a nap inside, like a normal person, would’ve been his idea of enjoying a storm, but, hey, a man could change. As the rain began to fall and Sharon curled even more closely into him, with her long legs and bare feet tangled up with his, he knew he wasn’t moving until the storm was over.

That night, as they were climbing into bed, another rumble of thunder sounded outside. The first storm had cleared up less than an hour after it started, and the rest of the day had been cloudy and foggy, but another storm was obviously on the way in. Sharon had already moisturized and done whatever else she usually did before bed, so when she wordlessly got out of bed to go back to the bathroom, Andy knew she had the same idea he did. After seeing a flash of lightning outside as she was getting back in bed, Andy pulled her closer to him. “Let’s see how far away the storm is.” He smoothed her hair back and kissed her temple. “Two, Mississippi.”

Sharon giggled and returned the kiss behind his ear. “Three, Mississippi.”

Given the California weather, making love during a thunderstorm was a first for them, but they soon found out that it had been well worth the wait.

The next morning was rainy and foggy, which was a perfect excuse to stay in their pajamas and watch GameDay on the porch all morning. The long weekend away had been mostly intended for relaxation and not doing a damn thing. Sharon got a blanket from inside, refilled her mimosa, and curled up in the swing beside Andy. The brilliantly-colored leaves, chill in the air, and the sound of rain falling provided the perfect backdrop for a morning of football. 

After lunch, they were getting restless, so they started a Spades tournament. Andy had always noticed that Beth and James were always partners instead of with their respective spouses, but he’d never asked why before. They’d never switched up partners any more than that before. “Why do Beth and James always play together?”

“It’s cheaper than divorce,” William deadpanned. 

Kate rolled her eyes. “They couldn’t care less about winning. They laugh about it when they get set.”

“Ahhh, so being ruthlessly competitive is an O’Dwyer thing, not just a Sharon thing.” It didn’t hurt Andy’s feelings to lose a game, either, and he knew he was going to be more focused on the Dodgers game than the card game, but he knew better than to let Sharon know that. “I won’t play Words With Friends with her for the same reason. I’d probably get the silent treatment for two days if I beat her.”

Sharon elbowed Andy in the side. “Yeah, right. He’s just afraid I’ll beat him too badly.”

Later that evening, they had reservations at one of their favorite restaurants downtown. Andy finished getting dressed and peeked into the bathroom. Sharon, dressed in leggings and a deep purple, long-sleeved tunic, was leaning toward the mirror to apply her lipstick, which he noticed was his favorite shade on her. As she leaned forward, the hem of her top crept higher, and he stood in the doorway and watched her for a few moments before she realized he was there. “Oh! I’m sorry, do you need the sink?”

“No, I, uh—was just seeing if you were almost ready.”

“I’m ready.” Sharon clicked the cap back on her lipstick before replacing it in her make-up bag and spritzed some perfume on her wrists and neck. 

Andy pulled her in for what was meant to be a quick kiss, but he slowed down when he noticed the scent from her neck. “New perfume?”

“Yeah, I decided to switch it up a little this time.” Sharon grinned against his lips as they continued to envelop hers. “If you keep this up, I won’t be ready anymore. I’ll have to redo my lipstick.”

“We have time.” Andy wrapped his arm around her waist, not intending to move anytime soon.

Sharon finally pulled away a few minutes later. “We’ve got to go, honey.” She kissed his cheek. “Tell them I’ll be right there.”

“Sharon still primping?” William asked as Andy walked into the kitchen. He chuckled when he noticed the lipstick on and around Andy’s mouth. “That’s a nice shade on you, Andy. It really brings out your eyes. What is that? Passion kiss?”

Andy instinctively wiped his mouth as he made his way to the sink to dampen a paper towel. “Nah, this one is Abstrait, I think.”

William rolled his eyes. “I was kidding.”

Andy removed the evidence from his mouth with the paper towel. “Oh, well, I told her I liked it a while ago, and she mentioned the name of it.”

“Uh-huh.”

When they got back from dinner, Sharon was upstairs and on the porch with the TV on before anyone else even made it into the house. UCLA was playing, and she didn’t want to miss another second of it. 

Andy came out on the porch a few moments later. “I knew where you were headed. Oh, wow, UCLA’s already on the board.”

“Yeah, the announcers just said Allen caught a touchdown pass. Where’s everyone else?” 

“Changing clothes and stuff.”

“Oh, right. I’ll do that during halftime.” Sharon’s eyes hadn’t left the TV the whole time they were talking. “Ugh, we’re going to have to settle for a field goal here.” 

Everyone else trickled out to the porch during the next few minutes, and Beth handed Sharon a mug of her famous hot chocolate, complete with Baileys and Kahlua. “Thank you.” She curled into Andy’s side and wrapped her hands around the mug, savoring its warmth before she took a sip. “This is so good. I can’t tell you the last time I had this when it wasn’t Christmas...oh, come on! You have to catch that!” Being Arizona graduates, Kate and James were pulling against her, and they were cheering at the same time. 

Andy shook his head. “Good luck getting a complete thought from Sharon on a Saturday in the Fall.”

During a commercial break, Sharon went inside for a glass of wine. The hot chocolate was good, but it was too heavy and sweet for more than one mug. When she got back outside, it was almost halftime, and UCLA had gotten the ball back. “I’d feel so much better if we’d score before the half,” she muttered. “Don’t give me that, you’re even worse about baseball,” she chastised Andy. 

“I didn’t say anything!” Andy protested. 

“You were thinking it...Come on, be there....yes!” 

Andy shrugged. “Well, one good thing about her one-tracked mind when football’s on is that it sometimes gets me out of trouble.”

During halftime, the dropping temperatures drove everyone inside. Sharon put her pajamas on, got another glass of wine, and slid easily into a recliner beside Andy. A little while later, with three minutes left in the game, UCLA was ahead by one. Andy wasn’t paying much attention, and with different people in the room pulling for different teams and reacting differently at the same time, he had spent most of the game confused. However, as the clock ticked down, Sharon’s nails digging into his arm left little room for confusion. When he felt her relax against him and retract her claws from his arm and heard groans of disappointment from Kate and James, he knew the game was over without looking up from his phone. “That only took about ten years off of my life,” Sharon commented.

“Mine, too.” Kate took a long sip of wine. “I’d rather lose in a blowout than by one point.”

“I’d rather win that way, myself.” Sharon shifted against Andy and stretched her legs out. The closer the game had gotten, the more she’d unconsciously curled herself into a ball, and it felt good to be able to relax. “The Rams better be a little kinder to my blood pressure—and my knees—tomorrow.”

The next day was sunny and a little warmer, so they decided to take the boat out. They still needed blankets, so Sharon wrapped a plush brown throw around her shoulders and curled up beside Andy. The soft warmth of his body, his fingers running through her hair, and the soothing hum of the boat could’ve easily put her to sleep, but the colorful leaves in the mountains and their reflection in the smooth lake held her attention. They mostly had the lake to themselves. When they got back to the house a little while later, William rolled his eyes when Andy laced his fingers through Sharon’s and turned her toward the hammock. “It’s a good thing you don’t have to worry about getting pregnant. There’s not enough birth control in the world for you two.”

“Newlyweds,” Kate scoffed. “Must be nice.”

Sharon nodded. “Oh, it is, don’t worry.”

William shook his head. “That’s disgusting.”

Andy tilted his head. “Huh. I could’ve sworn we left Emily and Rusty at home.”

Sharon smiled up at him. “I know, right?”


End file.
